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The labor force is the number of people ages XX or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or the institutionalized population, such as prison inmates. Determining the size of the labor force is a way of determining how big the economy can get.

The size of the labor force depends on two factors. The first is the size of the population, which is determined by rates of birth, immigration, and death. The second is the labor force participation rate--the percent of the population that is working or actively seeking employment.

Labor force participation rates vary significantly between men and women and among different age, racial, and ethnic groups. Population growth rates also vary from one group to another. These variations change the composition of the labor force over time.

The charts that follow show how the labor force is projected to change among age groups, between men and women, among racial groups (Asians, blacks, whites, and others), and among ethnic groups (Hispanics and non-Hispanics of any race). The U.S. Census Bureau uses these categories to produce the demographic data on which BLS projections are based.

Total labor force growth is expected to be about X.X percent annually between 2010 and 2020. This average is shown as a dotted vertical line in the chart on page XX.

As in previous years, the labor force is projected to grow more slowly than the number of jobs, but this is not an indication of a labor shortage. Instead, this discrepancy reflects that these two measures are based on different concepts.

Population and labor force, 2000, 2010, and projected 2020,
in millions of people

2000 2010 Projected 2020

XXX XXX XXX
Civilian
noninstitutional
population,
XX years and older

Labor force XXX XXX XXX

Both the population and the labor force are projected to
continue growing slowly. By 2020, the number of people
working or looking for work is expected to reach about
XXX million. That number excludes people younger than
XX years of age and those who are active-duty members
of the U.S. Armed Forces, are inmates of penal or mental
institutions, or are in homes for the aged.

Note: Table made from bar graph.

Annual growth rates in population and labor force,
2000-XX and projected 2010-XX, in percent

2000-XX Projected 2010-XX

Civilian X.X% X.X
noninstitutional
population,
XX years and older

Labor force X.X% X.X

Between 2010 and 2020, both the population and the
labor force are expected to grow more slowly than they did
during the previous decade.

Note: Table made from bar graph.

Numeric change in labor force by age,
projected 2010-XX, in thousands of people

The aging of the baby-boom generation (those born between
XXXX and 1964) increases the share of the older age
groups in the population. As baby boomers age over the
projections decade, the number of people in the labor
force ages XX to XX is expected to increase by more than
X million, and the number of people ages XX and older is
projected to increase by more than X million. The number of
XX-to XX-year-olds in the labor force is expected to
shrink as baby boomers shift into older groups.